Interview: Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion

Brett Gurewitz plays with Bad
Religion at the Glass House in
Pomona, California, at the 2007
Warped Tour Pre-Party. Photo courtesy
of Epitaph Records

“it’s like a rebirth or recharge,” says Brett
Gurewitz, cofounding guitarist of Bad
Religion, about the band’s new True North.
“We just wanted to challenge ourselves to
make an album like we did years ago—to
reconnect with our punk-rock roots.”

After various lineups and major-label
releases, the melodic-hardcore vets have
launched their 16th album, one that finds
them more comfortable in their own skin—
or at least the skin of their earliest years. In
that sense, it’s the most Bad Religion-like
record in nearly two decades. And Gurewitz
says it was one of the easiest to write, too.

Formed in 1979 by Gurewitz, Greg
Graffin (vocals), Jay Bentley (bass), and Jay
Ziskrout (drummer), the L.A.-based foursome
was influenced by SoCal forebears like
the Germs and Black Flag, while Graffin’s
academic-anarchist lyrics were inspired by
heady writers like Carl Sagan and Noam
Chomsky. In 1982, the band released
its blistering debut, How Could Hell Be
Any Worse?, on Epitaph Records, which
Gurewitz founded and still operates.

The very next year, Bentley and Ziskrout
departed, and the next BR album was the
keyboard-heavy blunder Into the Unknown.
The band went on hiatus after the album
was panned by fans and critics. They reconvened
in ’85 and tacitly admitted their misstep
with Into the Known, which featured
Circle Jerks guitarist Greg Hetson due to
Gurewitz’s battle with substance abuse.

In 1986, Gurewitz and Bentley returned
to the fold and the rekindled songwriting
chemistry between Gurewitz and Graffin
propelled the band into its prosperous
prime. From ’88–’90, Bad Religion virtually
redefined modern punk with three
albums: the ’90s-punk archetype Suffer, the
pummelingly melodic No Control, and the
poignantly fiery Against the Grain. Each
showcased the band’s new musical foundation—
super-tight breakneck rhythms,
three-part harmonies (what they like to call
“oozin’ aahs”), and articulate, establishment challenging
lyrics.

“One of the things Bad Religion contributed
to punk rock was three-part
melodies and detailed background vocals,”
says Gurewitz. “It was just something I
was really fond of—probably because I
was a California kid who grew up on the
Beach Boys—and felt it gave a musicality
to our strong messages. We are a band
after all [laughs].”

After two more solid releases, the band
ran into major mayhem when they signed
to a major label. Shortly after their Atlantic
Records debut, Stranger Than Fiction, the
company re-released Recipe for Hate—which
had already been released by Epitaph. As
it hit the streets, Gurewitz left to handle
the soaring popularity of Epitaph artists
the Offspring and Rancid. Many in the
punk-rock community suggested Gurewitz
disliked the big-label bounce, but his explanation
is that, “Bad Religion was well on
its way, and it was an important time at
Epitaph, so I needed to be there to aid in
the hectic day-to-day ventures.”

Hardcore veteran Brian Baker of Minor
Threat filled in as the band’s second guitarist
alongside Hetson, but lukewarm sales of
the next three albums pushed Bad Religion
back to the welcoming arms of Epitaph and
Gurewitz, who rejoined and made the band
a sextet in 2002.

LEFT: Gurewitz (far left) at one of Bad Religion’s first shows—a University of Southern California frat
party held on November 20, 1980. Photo by Gary Leonard / Epitaph Records RIGHT: In this pic from a March 5, 1981, gig at the Vex Club in East L.A., Gurewitz proselytizes with a
Les Paul plugged into a Music Man head. Photo by Gary Leonard / Epitaph Records

His return alleviated some of the songwriting
burden previously shouldered by
Graffin, and it couldn't help but rekindle
the signature sound.

“I am proud of every piece of music
we’ve put out over the last 30+ years, but
it was just time to make an album like
this,” Gurewitz says of True North. “After
setting out to limit ourselves to write
fast, up-tempo songs around two minutes
[long], this was the most fun, enthusiastic,
and motivating project we’ve done in a
long time.”

To get more details on the famous
humanists' fearless and perennial holy war
for peace and rationality through unimpeachable
punk musicianship, we recently
spoke with Gurewitz about the new guitar
that inspired him while recording True
North, and how record labels can still be
relevant and beneficial to artists in 2013
and beyond.

Chris has degrees in Journalism and History from the University of Iowa and has been with PG dating back to his days as an intern in 2007. Since then, he's become Associate Editor and done almost everything—including overseeing web content/article creation, video shooting/editing, and writing artist features and music reviews. He spends his free time with his pitbull Doozy, collecting tattoos, and trying his hand at being a hipster by gathering vinyl anywhere he can find it. He's one of the lone sports nuts on staff and cheers on the Cubs, Cowboys, and Michigan Wolverines. Oh yeah, he of course enjoys making noise on the guitar. Follow Chris on Twitter.

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